I am about to do something I find utterly pretentious when I see it done by others, and I fear that there is no amount of self-deprecation, witty observations, or insightful tidbits that can save what follows from being both obtuse and narcissistic. However, after several agonizing seconds of self-reflection, and a rather long conversation about a current project, it became clear that I should do the dreaded “year-in-review” post.

I’ve decided not to just do one blog post, but rather a series (the length of which is still not determined), that focuses on major projects we undertook, themes this year has adopted, tips, tricks, and the evolution of our style etc. So to finish off this first post let me lay a few ground rules:

1. I want what follows to be encouraging to artists, specifically filmmakers, who have felt frustrated in the pursuit of their careers. If you are any sort of artist you have chosen one of the most difficult and convoluted career paths possible, more so if you are a filmmakers. The marriage of art and business is never more essential than in the film world. Many people find these skill sets at odds, and efforts to unite them often end in failure. I can’t honestly say I’ve been successful at it yet, but I can say it’s become easier with time.

2. I will be honest. It’s not helpful for me to pretend that everything has gone smoothly. It is not helpful for me to act like there weren’t moments when I wanted to throw in the towel. Too often we see the end result and think that it always looked like that. I hope in some measure to strip away the façade of success that surrounds so many social media pages, and delve into the struggles (from both a personal and business perspective), the technical, and the reasoning behind decisions that were made. This is an industry of perception, bright lights, expensive cameras, and a showman in the center (maybe not the greatest showman, but a showman none the less). So much of that is inconsequential. I hope to show you that.

3. It will be personal. As of right now, Other Vision and Collins White are separated only by a legal document and a bank account. When Other Vision has an up day, Collins has an up day, when Collins has a bad day, Other Vision has a bad day. The two are intertwined, and while in the next year or two I hope to take Other Vision to a place where Collins isn’t necessary for it’s continued operation, that is not the case now, so something things that sit firmly in the personal realm will be included on this business page.

4. It will be positive. I’m not about to deride my competition, or throw people under the buss, or complain about clients all over Facebook. I will be honest, but if you want a totally unfiltered opinion, best we do that over coffee. Besides, my new year’s resolution is to take more coffee meetings with new people, so hit me up, you’ll be helping me reach my goals 🙂

5. I will not be overly technical. There will be times I discuss how we set something up, and the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, and the reasoning behind creative decisions, but I’m going to try to keep this as much of an overview as possible.

6. I will not engage in positioning. You’ve seen it. People post blogs that talk about how creative they are, all their wonderful connections, how amazing their work is under the pretense of offering value. I hate that. If you want to know my position in this market look at my demo reel. If you want to hear about the wild ride that 2017 has been with its ups and gain any insight to how I and Other Vision operate, then look here.

My hope is that in being honest, I will encourage many of you. This job isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes it’s a war, sometimes it’s a brick wall you can’t climb over, sometimes it’s facing an army of trolls. Whatever else it may be, it is, beyond anything else, Worth It. And that’s what I hope to communicate over the next few days. My plan is to hit the major projects, and major phases our business went though and discuss each in detail. However, there is a comments section here for a reason…. if you have a specific question, or want me to talk about a specific project, just leave a comment. I’ll either address it in one of these posts, or chat with you about it privately.

Collins Abbott White is an award-winning Producer, Director and DP, and owner of Other Vision Studios specializing in creative corporate content and narrative film. If you need a video produced for your business or if you have an idea for a film, e-mail Collins.White@othervision.net, he’s always interested in meeting new people and trying new things.